Arnarker is a cave that serves as the entrance to a lava tunnel on the Leitarhraun lava field, north of Route 380, near Thorlakshofn (Þorlákshöfn) in southwestern Iceland.
Arnarker was once closed to visitors, but it is now open again (free of charge!). A short path leads to it from the parking lot on Route 380, and a renovated spiral staircase takes you to the bottom of the sinkhole.
The cave is the entrance to a fairly long series of caves, but without proper preparation – especially very powerful flashlights, helmets, and dirt-resistant suits – it is difficult to explore more than just the first few meters of the cave in each direction.
The total length of the passages accessed through Arnarker is over 500 m (1,600 ft) – about 100 m (330 ft) to the south and as much as 400 m (1,300 ft) to the north. If you decide to explore the cave, remember that it is protected and must not be damaged or littered.
Since without the proper equipment we can only see the beginning of each of the corridors, and at the same time access to the cave is quite difficult (very bumpy road 380) and the cave is quite far from other attractions, the whole thing is not really worth recommending.
There are several other lava tunnels in the area that are open to visitors (with a guide and for a fee, e.g. Raufarhólshellir on Route 39), and in other parts of Iceland there are similar places, also accessible for free (e.g. Surtshellir in the Kalmanstunga area).
The largest and most famous lava-tube caves – accessible only with a guide – are Vidgelmir and Vatnshellir. Admission to these caves is not cheap, but at least you can actually go quite deep, safely and comfortably, into truly huge and beautiful lava tunnels.
Those who still want to get to Arnarker from Reykjavik should take Route 1 east and turn south onto Route 39, then southeast onto Route 380.
There is a small parking area by Route 380; from there, head northwest along a clearly visible path (unless it is covered with snow). After about 10 minutes, you will reach the cave.
Map: driving route from Reykjavik to the Arnarker cave — click to open the interactive map
